When we saw this entry on Adam Bendetto's MySpace blog we couldn't resist asking if we could syndicate it. This is what Adam and Christopher Berge would do with Madison if they were jointly Mayor, but what about you intrepid reader? As we approach the election Dane101 would like to invite anyone and everyone to lend their thoughts on how they would run the ideal Madison. Send us 200 words or more and after a wee bit of editing (if needed), we'll toss it on the site. Sky is the limit, be as serious or playful as you would like. Madison is your play-doh. Current or former politicans welcome. Send to editor(@)dane101(dot)com.

A few weeks ago the Wisconsin State Journal printed an article Christopher Berge and I wrote about ways in which Madison could culturally improve itself. The ideas presented were; the creation of an Asian Water Market over Monona Bay, a walking shopping district that intentionally emphasizes café culture and a city subsidized bakery that would give low income neighborhoods jobs while at the same time giving Madison a national reputation as being a city of great bread.

Those were just the ideas we had that ran along cultural lines. But we have more. We've played with these ideas so long that I dont know which of them are mine and which are his. It doesn't matter; now they're ideas and they exist.

I'm going to refrain from categorizing these ideas because I think they're too playful and too far in the realm of imagination to present as things the mayoral candidates should be debating in this election cycle.

Instead I'll just list them as things I'd make happen if I were the Mayor of the finest city in America: Madison.

When it comes to the look of the city I think there should be mystery in the architecture when one needs to walk around holding hands and falling in love; and clarity when one needs to get somewhere.

In this regard I would build more terminating vistas to keep your eye from reaching all the way down long streets. In France they never let the distance go beyond that of human scale. There is always an arch or a fountain or a public sculpture that stops your eye from straining to find a horizon. It gives a sense of space that American cities are prone to lose. Think about if you've ever looked down an avenue in New York City. Not only do the high rises give you tunnel vision the street goes on so far you feel like the universe around you is infinite. In contrast the French cities, visually, are places people live in. They do this with density, three story apartment buildings and terminating vistas. Imagine if the intersection where Williamson meets John Nolan Drive there was a huge sculpture of some kind that would separate the Williamson Neighborhood from the down town. In fact, you can go though and think about how a large sculpture over the road at each of the neighborhood signs would alter and define the character of the city.

Imagine if people in the Burr Oaks neighborhood could say, just take a left at the three story fountain known as Free Democracy (featuring a nude life-sized statue of Ben Masel heroically collecting signatures to run for office) and you're almost to my house.

Fun isnt it?

But nothing creates mystery like arched doors. In Morocco, where there is a bit too much mystery for my taste, they arch all of their doorways. There's really nothing more to say about that except that it's a nice escape from our standard rectangle. For some reason changing the smallest of details like that really sparks the imagination. I don't know what I could do as mayor to help promote the arched door way but I'd figure something out.

There are also some places in Morocco where sections of the cities are intentionally painted different colors from other parts of the city. The Atwood neighborhood could be zoned blue, for instance, while the Veridian Homes in Cardinal Glenn could all be red. It may be a nice shift from the standard tones of grey or beige we're bored with every day.

Of course, all of these ideas are about compounding the feeling of being where you are.

In that same trend I'd also hire a number of artists to help turn cell-phone towers into giant art pieces so they would be something that a community could identify as their own rather than some giant corporate stain in their farm field.

As Mayor I would also find ways to promote incredible architecture. The designs Antoni Gaudi built into Barcelona will keep people visiting for years. Madison should have the goal of creating other buildings that compound the effect of The Capitol. Great architecture is always a wise investment for a city.

Along the lines of architectural investment I would also build a cheap hotel district thats built like a Kasbah. Tightly packed hotels lined one against another with a five foot corridor laced between them for people to walk their luggage. If they were built right they would have the ability to house 50,000 people. Imagine if everyone that came to a football game was also able to find hotel accommodations on the Isthmus. Imagine the nightlife that would be instantly created if no one had to drive home.

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There are also things we can do on a smaller scale; if I were Mayor I'd create opportunities for people to rent businesses from the city. One example would be shoe shine stands that are metered. If youre a kid who wants to make some money by shining shoes youd show up at the stand and put a few quarters in the meter the way you rent a parking space. Then, for two hours you can shine peoples shoes there. (Incidentally I didnt see this anywhere it just came to me.)

If I were mayor I'd build a series of small entertainment spots along the bike path. I would build a series of kitchens ordinary people could rent and then bake and sell cookies, pastries, pastawhatever type of food they wanted to make. Imagine the diversity of foods wed get just from the many ethnic communities we have in the area.

Along the bicycle path would also be interesting to have a series of small out door movie theaters where anyone who wanted to rent the theater and play movies could. Imagine if during the Wisconsin Film Festival you could bicycle around the city on a tandem bicycle with your loved one to watch different short films until the dawn made you go home.

These are just ideas. Some of which weve seen in other countries and some weve just made up. All of which may help to evoke that spirit of mystery that is the allure of so many of those old European and Arab cities; all of which I hope you get used to before I become mayor.